Work completed on MLK memorial

From Laura Koran, CNN

Updated 7:00 PM ET, Fri August 16, 2013

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

Memorials and monuments – The dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial on Sunday, October 16, 2011 added another impressive monument to the tourist trail in Washington. The site features a 30-foot statue of the late civil rights leader gazing out on the Tidal Basin. Following are some of the U.S. capital's other historic monuments.

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

Jefferson Memorial – Various types of marble, limestone and granite make up the Jefferson Memorial. From Vermont to Georgia and beyond, the sources of the materials give physical representation to the original states and the expanding union.

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

Korean War Veterans Memorial – The Korean War Veterans Memorial honors all of the American services and includes statues of figures in uniforms representing each branch.

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool – The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Daniel French was responsible for the imposing sculpture of Lincoln.

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

Washington Monument – The Washington Monument varies in color because sections of it were started at different times -- in 1854 and later in 1879. The two sections used marble from different quarries, and weathering and erosion have made the difference more noticeable. The momument has been closed temporarily since the August 23 earthquake.

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

Vietnam Veterans Memorial – The black granite wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial bears 58,267 names of those who died in the Vietnam War, but it's possible for that number to change each Memorial Day depending on submissions to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

World War II Memorial – Each of the 4,048 gold stars on the Freedom Wall represents 100 American service personnel who perished or were never recovered in the war.

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial – Ulysses S. Grant forever sits astride his favorite horse, Cincinnatus. There are reliefs of two infantry groups on the pedestal for the statue of the 18th U.S. president and commander of Union forces in the Civil War.

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Photos:Memorials and monuments

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial – The Roosevelt Memorial represents all 12 years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, including a sequence of four outdoor "rooms" that signify each of his terms in office. Roosevelt's dog Fala sits at his feet.

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Story highlights

Sandblasting completed on King Memorial

That follows removal of controversial passage

50th anniversary of King speech this month

The National Mall's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial will be ready for events later this month commemorating the 50th anniversary of his "I Have a Dream Speech."

Sandblasting on King's monument was completed Thursday night after delays over a company not having proper insurance.

The National Park Service's Historic Preservation Training Center ended up doing the work, said spokeswoman Carol Johnson. The park service, which was not initially aware that the sandblasting would be required, is "very happy" with the completed project, she said.

Two months before he was assassinated in 1968, King in fact said: "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

The work at the site is expected to cost between $700,000 and $800,000, according to Bob Vogel, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. The money is coming not from taxpayer dollars but from a fund established for repairs.

The memorial, designed by Chinese artist Lei Yixin, opened in the summer of 2011. It features a large statue of King carved into the centerpiece "Stone of Hope," a large block set apart from the memorial's "Mountain of Despair," from which it appears to emerge.